How a visit to a New York speakeasy led to launching Whisky Loot in Sydney

When Sydneysider Joel Hauer enjoyed an in-depth conversation about whisky with an insightful bartender in a speakeasy in New York City’s Lower East Side a few years ago, little did he know how much that chance encounter would change his life. Back home in Sydney, Hauer struggled to find the same level of service at local bars. So – inspired by his experience at the speakeasy – he decided to launch his own whisky subscription company, Whisky Loot. Inside FMCG enjoyed a similar conversation with Hauer, now an insightful whisky specialist in his own right, about the journey of Whisky Loot, the local and international whisky market, educating consumers and the sensory experience of enjoying a whisky...Inside FMCG: How did Whisky Loot begin?Joel Hauer: Whisky Loot began out of my passion for whisky, combined with my prior role as a digital marketing agency founder. After working for several high profile e-commerce businesses, I decided to challenge myself by striving to create an e-commerce brand based on the key elements I thought would work the best. At the time, I was entering the world of whisky. I developed my passion through conversations with friends and bartenders, but often purchased an expensive bottle that was either underwhelming or utterly different from what I expected. On holiday in New York, I struck up a conversation with a bartender who asked me poignant questions that led to a great whisky selection. At that stage, I realised that finding your perfect whisky was not the goal, but instead a journey of tasting whiskies from different regions and taste profiles. As I started to explore the idea further, it became clear that I could incorporate a strong educational focused product experience, with a unique monthly box delivery.Inside FMCG: What were the difficulties in launching the business?JH: Prior to launching the business, my experience was in traditional serviced-based organisations. Coming from the world of advertising, I knew that I needed to quickly up skill to understand logistics, supply chain, business development and most importantly, become more of an expert in whisky. After setting up the brand, one of the main difficulties was in packaging and logistics. Unfortunately, I did not have a full understanding of the complexity of packaging requirements so I had to learn quickly on the job. I soon realised I needed to bring smart people on board and that allowed me to focus on growing the brand and find new opportunities for growth.A trip to the NYC inspired Joel Hauer to put up a whisky business in the Land Down Under.Inside FMCG: How is the experience of drinking a whisky different to other alcoholic beverages like beer or wine?JH: The most immediate difference is the strength. If you are used to other drinks, whisky certainly packs a punch. But with this stronger alcohol content comes a greater intensity of flavour. While beer is refreshing, and wine is sophisticated, whisky is assertive: it demands your attention, but this is not to say that whisky lacks subtlety. Once you have adjusted your palate to the higher strength, you will find a wealth of delicate undertones in each dram. Patiently sipping a delicious single malt is an unparalleled sensory experience, at once relaxing and compelling, which introduces you to new flavours you have never tasted before. Inside FMCG: Why do you think there is a gap in the market for quality whiskies?JH: We are not a distillery, nor are we a traditional online retail store. We are known well for the gap we fill and democratising premium whiskey by allowing anyone to trial a series of tasters that may previously have been out of reach financially (by having to buy a full-sized bottle). Combining this with a curated playlist of whiskies delivered over a year puts in perspective what we set out to do. Beyond trialling a premium whisky, getting comfortable and calling yourself an expert in all the terminology and taste profiles traditionally took a long time. With Whisky Loot, this has merely been a fun journey over 12 months.Inside FMCG: How do you choose which liquor to include in the subscription boxes?JH: With the business being around four years old now, we have a great team, all providing input on the choice of liquor in the boxes. We offer a range of one-off boxes featuring different taste profiles and locations around the world, as well as our subscription product, which takes people on a curated journey month by month from novice to expert. The selection process is heavily focused on what month we are creating, as each box builds up in complexity as a subscriber moves through their subscription plan. Now that we have launched the Gin Loot brand, we have brought in a resident gin expert. Tim Laferla is in charge of selecting the gins and working with distilleries around the world to feature a wide selection of award-winning spirits.Inside FMCG: Tell us about designing the packaging.JH: My experience was in branding and marketing, and after working with a range of high growth e-commerce companies in my agency days, I knew how important packaging was. I wanted to create a high quality experience that matched the top shelf nature of the liquor in the box. Since launching, we have only changed our main subscription box once and created a range of retail and speciality boxes, like our bespoke Advent calendar boxes that are very popular.Joel Hauer talks about the gap for good quality whiskies in the local market.Inside FMCG: What makes Whisky Loot different from other companies?JH: Other whisky delivery companies focus on delivering a full bottle of whisky per month, which may be good for experts, but does not provide a good opportunity to get your foot in the door to the world of whisky. We believe tasting experience more closely matches the desire of our customers, and are investing heavily in our technology and educational resources to provide the best experience possible.Inside FMCG: Tell us about the whisky education that you offer customers, such as the monthly videos that you have shared.JH: Our monthly tasting videos are at the core of our offering at Whisky Loot. Our custom-designed whisky tasting dashboard takes the guesswork out of navigating whisky, with one expert tasting video available for each taster on the subscription. Monthly educational videos focus on theories, regions and explaining the terminology, allowing customers to learn throughout the tasting.Inside FMCG: What is the general competitive landscape for whisky like in Australia compared to overseas?JH: We now have more distilleries right here in Australia than there are in Scotland, with more than 50 having a whisky on the market. Many of these distillers have worked together, or helped each other get off the ground, so it is certainly a more collaborative industry than say, in Japan. Australian whisky is prized for its quality too. In 2014, Sullivan’s Cove distillery was awarded the world’s best single malt at the World Whisky Awards for its French Oak bottling. This was the first time a distillery outside Scotland or Japan had picked up the accolade. Since then, the industry has gone from strength to strength, with high quality single malts fetching serious prices, and prized by drinkers around the world.